A Magic Stronger Than Darkness ~ Book 2: Forever & Always

Chapter 13 ~ Moves Like Merlin

During the following evening when Draco and I met in the Forbidden Forest, I came up with a wonderful idea to help us pass the time. Plus, my plan could also take our minds off the nightmares that had been plaguing the two of us over the past few months.

"You know what we haven't done in a while?" I asked excitedly after we exchanged our usual hug of greeting.

Draco eyed me with a combination of caution and uncertainty. "What?"

"Practice magic! I don't know about you, but I'm itching for some competition. Shall I say, a duel, perhaps? After all, we've never practiced anything against one another. It could be fun!" I encouraged him hopefully.

Draco released a snort of amusement, "Are you sure you're up for it? A goodie-goodie Gryffindor like you breaking Umbridge's magic rule?" He teased, winking at me cheekily.

I narrowed my eyes at him in return, "Well, since I started dating you, let's just say I've begun to embrace my rebellious side." I retorted, stepping away from him to prepare myself for our little duel, should my boyfriend agree to participate.

Draco chuckled, dipping his head and rolling up the sleeves of his gray sweater. "Could fancy a go myself. It certainly wouldn't hurt to practice." He copied my mischievous grin and drew his wand.

I pulled my own weapon from its place in my boot and pointed it at him, bending my knees in order to better be able to dodge any of his attacks.

Draco raised an eyebrow at me, "It's only polite to bow, remember, love?" He reminded me. I huffed impatiently, but proceeded to perform the customary gesture we had learned in our Second Year Dueling class.

When we both stood straight once more, Draco was the first to strike.

"Aqua Eructo!" He yelled, flicking his wrist in the appropriate motion.

A stream of water shot from the end of his wand before I could cast a defensive shielding spell in retaliation, and so the cool jet hit me square in the chest, soaking my entire torso.

"Fumos!" I countered, waving my wand in a circular movement.

The resulting spell created a gray cloud of smoke that was thick enough to conceal my exact whereabouts within the billowing fog. This charm prevented Draco from seeing me move away, and bought me some time to use a quick drying spell on myself as well.

It took about ten seconds for the smoke to clear, but my enhanced hearing allowed for me to pinpoint where exactly Draco had positioned himself for his next assault. He had attempted to try and sneak up behind me, forgetting that I could hear his footsteps crunching through the dead leaves as he crept closer. His jaw fell when he noticed me turn around to stare at him, my own wand raised at the ready.

"Obscuro!" I spoke clearly, grinning as a blindfold appeared over Draco's eyes. "Locomotor Mortis," I added as an afterthought, watching in satisfaction as my boyfriend's legs "locked" together. He fell to the ground with a dull thud, struggling to move against the binds of the spells. Draco began to mumble counterspells under his breath, quickly undoing my work. Grunting, he got back to his feet and brushed off his slacks and rumpled shirt.

"If I had known we were playing dirty, I would've done this first...Levicorpus!" He laughed as he got back on his feet, the familiar glint of deviancy shining in his eyes as he cast his spell on me.

My eyes widened as the levitation spell pulled me up into the air, flipped my body completely upside down, and dangled me several feet above the ground.

"I'm going to kill you Draco Malfoy!" I yelled, trying to muffle my laugh and sound legitimately angry with him, but failing miserably in doing so. He knew me too well to fall for that.